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Thread: New mower with bagger doesn't suck

  1. #1
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    New mower with bagger doesn't suck

    New Craftsman 30" mower with bagger came with a 3 in 1 mulching blade. Had to go over grass and leaves 3 times before it was clean... left behind small sticks, along with deer and bear poop. Had to clean out chute after every pass. (One-size-fits-all socks never worked for me, either.) Learned that a high lift blade is not available. Snapper used to provide bolt-on wings to increase lift for bagging. I added my own lift wings to 3 in 1 blade... turned it into a 4 in 1 blade. Now, the unit sucks up everything on the first pass, including grass, leaves, sticks, and deer and bear poop. Chute remains clear, even when bags are topped out... yeah! Happy camper. I like things that work.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails New mower with bagger doesn't suck-blade-mod-2.png   New mower with bagger doesn't suck-blade-mod-3.png  

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    mwmkravchenko (Nov 20, 2023), odd one (Nov 21, 2023), robertblacksmith (Nov 27, 2023), tonyfoale (Nov 30, 2023), tuchie (Nov 20, 2023), wolfpaak (Nov 27, 2023)

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    Thanks Gadgeteer! We've added your Mower Lift Wings to our Farm and Garden category,
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    Supporting Member hemmjo's Avatar
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    I have always wondered about doing that. Did you have much trouble getting it balanced?

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    mwmkravchenko (Nov 20, 2023)

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    Quote Originally Posted by hemmjo View Post
    I have always wondered about doing that. Did you have much trouble getting it balanced?
    Superior skill, and cunning yielded perfect balance after the wings were added to the blade, so no further balancing was needed... well, a little luck didn't hurt, either. I'm, totally, overjoyed at the results of this easy modification.

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    I too have thought about that but felt nervous about incompatible materials, welding heat shrink differential, resulting stress and my neighbor down the block getting a schrapnel wound.

    I want to do it make a serious leaf blower out of my zero-turn.

    Or to do even more aggressive 'mow-tilling' (i do it now using old blades to flatten out all those pesky mole hills in my back field)
    I'd add a bit down-ward to 'lower' the blades for a better buzz-cut.

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    Quote Originally Posted by CharlesWaugh View Post
    I too have thought about that but felt nervous about incompatible materials, welding heat shrink differential, resulting stress and my neighbor down the block getting a schrapnel wound.

    I want to do it make a serious leaf blower out of my zero-turn.

    Or to do even more aggressive 'mow-tilling' (i do it now using old blades to flatten out all those pesky mole hills in my back field)
    I'd add a bit down-ward to 'lower' the blades for a better buzz-cut.
    I've considered negative possibilities, but since the positives far outweighed any rare/freak occurrences, I determined to give it a shot. So far, my failure rate on DIY projects is zero.

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    I'll be performing destructive testing on the modified blade next summer. I'll post my results at the end of the mowing season.

    The photos, somewhat, distort the size of the added wings. They are both 1/8" thick, and measure 3.25" x 2.5" x 1".
    Last edited by Gadgeteer; Nov 26, 2023 at 10:28 PM.

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    30" Sears

    Quote Originally Posted by Gadgeteer View Post
    New Craftsman 30" mower with bagger came with a 3 in 1 mulching blade. Had to go over grass and leaves 3 times before it was clean... left behind small sticks, along with deer and bear poop. Had to clean out chute after every pass. (One-size-fits-all socks never worked for me, either.) Learned that a high lift blade is not available. Snapper used to provide bolt-on wings to increase lift for bagging. I added my own lift wings to 3 in 1 blade... turned it into a 4 in 1 blade. Now, the unit sucks up everything on the first pass, including grass, leaves, sticks, and deer and bear poop. Chute remains clear, even when bags are topped out... yeah! Happy camper. I like things that work.
    I think I have the same 30" sears mower with same problem; added wings to blade about like you did. Chute stays clearer but sucking leaves up has not improved any.

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    You have converted your mower a lawn vac.

    The effectiveness of a lawn vac is directly proportional to how close to the ground. If the blade is too high clean air is collected from above the debris, leaving it behind. Also wet leaves as are not as easily collected as dry leaves.

    Just a thought.

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    Gadgeteer (Nov 28, 2023)

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    Quote Originally Posted by seb fontana View Post
    I think I have the same 30" sears mower with same problem; added wings to blade about like you did. Chute stays clearer but sucking leaves up has not improved any.
    I'm interested to know the size and shape of your wings, and the angle that they make with the blade. I have huge silver poplar and cottonwood trees in my backyard, so that is the reason I needed the highlift feature.

    Like hemmjo has mentioned there is a difference between vacuuming wet and dry leaves... dry leaves just flew into the bagger, while wet leaves were a bit slower. But, compared to the 3 in 1 blade that came on the mower, my modified blade is FAR superior. Luck is, sometimes, successful.

    Template used for lift wing attachment, below.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails New mower with bagger doesn't suck-wing-lift-template.png  
    Last edited by Gadgeteer; Nov 28, 2023 at 02:46 AM.

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